CookIt! 2007 Final

Roz Denny ()

Sophie Buck wins the 2007 CookIt! Competition.

Sophie Buck (pictured right with Mimmika Liacos of Airmiles) won over the tastebuds of BBC 2’s Great British Menu double winner judge Mark Hix and fellow judges, celebrity chef Marcus Wareing and award-winning cookery writer Sophie Grigson on Thursday 24 May with her fab fish pie and thick and gooey Brownies with Kentish strawberries.

Sophie (pictured left with judge, chef Mark Hix), from Faversham, Kent, one of six finalists, showed off her admirable skills during the final cook-off at the BBC Good Food Magazine test kitchen beating Sam Rooks (13) into second place with his lamb dish and chocolate tart and thirdly Joshua Sparks (14) who tackled venison and innovative chilli orange chocolate brownies. Food Director Sara Buenfeld of the BBC’s Good Food Magazine also formed part of the judgely huddle.

Sophie, who at ten years old is our youngest ever winner, attends Ashford Friars Preparatory School, Great Chart, Ashford and scoops the first prize of a fabulous guided culinary trip to Paris generously donated by Airmiles.

Finalists, selected from keen young cooks all across the UK, were charged to create a two course menu, this year’s theme 007 – Licence to Bake.

The Guild of Food Writers’ children’s cookery competition is part of a national children’s food and cookery education campaign launched by the Guild of Food Writers in 2003. Pictured right are three of the competition's organisers from the Guild of Food Writers: (from left to right) Jane Suthering, Debbie Hearn and Roz Denny.

If you know of any schools or children’s organisations that would be interested in the competition then please email their email details to the Guild of Food Writers’ administrator, Jonathan Woods,
jonathan@gfw.co.uk.

Photographer: Myles New

With thanks to BBC Good Food magazine

The Grain Chain

The 2007 competition was sponsored by the Flour Advisory Bureau and the Home Grown Cereal Authority (HGCA). The Grain Chain www.grainchain.com is a new user-friendly multimedia resource which offers children a fun way to learn about healthy eating and gain an insight into the ‘field to fork’ cycle of how wheat is grown and used to produce breads and breakfast cereals.

Develop with input from teachers, this latest learning resource which is accessible on www.grainchain.com can be used both in the classroom and at home with family and friends. It offers visual, up-to date materials including activity sheets, games and quizzes which cover the key topics of arable farming, milling, cooking and nutrition. Teachers are offered the benefits of interactive white board activities as an addition classroom resource plus a dedicated teachers' section which includes detailed lesson plans and curriculum details.

The Grain Chain, www.grainchain.com, covers the following age groups:
* 5 – 7 years old
* 7 – 11 years old
*11 – 14 years old
*14 – 16 years old

Children's Food Festival

The first ever Children’s Food Festival took place over the weekend of 14 and 15 July 2007 at the Northmoor Trust’s conservation farm, 10 miles south of Oxford, within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The aim of the Festival is to transform children’s approach to food. The Festival wants to give children and parents a fresh perspective on healthy eating. The objectives are:

To inspire children to cook.

To help children make the links between food and wellbeing.

To show children how food is produced.

To encourage children to be curious about food from other cultures.

Raymond Blanc, Sophie Grigson, Antonio Carluccio, Annabel Karmel and Nora Sands, the Dinner Lady from Jamie’s School Dinners, lead a strong line-up of chefs, restaurants and farmers who are taking part. The approach will be creative, fun and hands-on. Six ‘Field to Fork’ marquees will be the heart of the festival: The Meat Tent, The Dairy Tent, The Fruit and Vegetable Tent, The Bread Tent, The Honey Tent and The Smell Tent. There will also be a Kid’s Kitchen, a Talks and Tastings Marquee, farm animals, walkabout theatre and a farmers’ market of local, organic and fair trade produce.

The Academy of Culinary Arts is Britain’s leading professional association of Head Chefs, Pastry Chefs, Restaurant Managers and suppliers in Great Britain. While concerned with raising standards and awareness of food, food provenance, cooking and service, its objectives are equally focussed on the new generation of young industry people through its education and training programmes and the provision of career opportunities.

‘Chefs Adopt a School’ is the Academy’s charity where members ‘adopt’ a school and teach children primary and secondary about food, where it comes from, how to taste and cook it.